It's unclear when Dreamliner will return to the clouds

By Kiah Collier

1:30 pm, Friday, January 25, 2013

Photo: Eric Kayne

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United Airlines - the North American launch customer for the Boeing 787 -flew its first scheduled commercial 787 flight from Houston to Chicago, with more than 200 customers on board Nov. 4, 2012 in Houston at Bush International Airport. less

United Airlines - the North American launch customer for the Boeing 787 -flew its first scheduled commercial 787 flight from Houston to Chicago, with more than 200 customers on board Nov. 4, 2012 in Houston at ... more

Photo: Eric Kayne

It's unclear when Dreamliner will return to the clouds

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More than a week after federal regulators took the rare step of grounding Boeing's newest model jet, the 787 Dreamliner, no one is saying when the technologically advanced aircraft will be allowed back in the skies.

A subsequent incident involving the emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways Dreamliner last week after a cockpit message showed battery problems prompted the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to announce a review of the aircraft's electrical systems on Jan. 11, followed a week later by an "emergency airworthiness directive" requiring U.S. airlines to stop flying the jet until the batteries are deemed safe.

Boeing issued a statement after the news conference saying it couldn't comment on the ongoing investigation because it wanted to ensure the probe's integrity and adhere to international protocols that it said govern safety investigations.

The company said it has formed teams of technical experts to resolve the issues.

And during a conference call Thursday to discuss fourth-quarter and 2012 earnings, executives of United Airlines - the only U.S. carrier to have received the plane - were asked whether Boeing or the FAA had given them any indication as to when they'll be able to resume flying the six Dreamliners they received last year.

The answer was a flat, "No."

Japanese aviation regulators also are investigating the incidents.

Meanwhile, Boeing has halted delivery of the 787, even as it continues to manufacture them, and the 50 Dreamliners it has delivered to seven foreign carriers and United are reportedly grounded.

Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst, said after Thursday's news conference that "doubts are growing about the ability to find a quick fix."

"The issues will be resolved, the only question is: Is this a quick fix of a couple weeks or a lengthy process involving systems redesign and recertification?" he said. "I think the balance is shifting toward the second, unfortunately."

The saga has brought attention to the fact that Boeing outsourced much of the Dreamliner's development to third-party companies. The lithium-ion batteries under scrutiny, for example, were manufactured by a Japanese company.

Aboulafia said outsourcing manufacture of certain parts is a common practice and isn't of concern, but that the outsourcing of the design and engineering is. The productions delay that pushed delivery of the first Dreamliner back by more than three years, he said, showed "that not enough of the design responsibility had stayed with the prime contractor: Boeing."

During the news conference this month announcing the comprehensive review of the aircraft, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said the agency spent 200,000 hours certifying the new plane before it entered commercial service 15 months ago on All Nippon.

The certification process, which has been investigated by government agencies, has also come under a microscope.

Reports produced in recent years by federal reviewers have found that understaffing at the FAA means manufacturers like Boeing end up performing large portions of the work involved in certifying a new aircraft design.

"Designees perform a substantial amount of critical work on FAA's behalf - for example, at one aircraft manufacturer, they made about 90 percent of the regulatory compliance determinations for a new aircraft design," according to the summary of a June 2011 audit report by U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General, which recommended the FAA fortify "its risk assessment and oversight approach" for such programs.

Jeff Smisek, CEO of Chicago-based United, expressed confidence Thursday that Boeing can fix the problems and that travelers will feel safe flying the Dreamliner once it is cleared for service.

"I have no doubt that customers will flock back to that airplane as soon as we get it back up again," Smisek said. "But this is a problem that Boeing and the regulatory authorities need to deal with."

"Once this particular issue is solved, it's solved, and it's just a matter of whatever time it takes to solve it," Smisek said.

Smisek said United expects to receive two more 787s during the latter half of this year.

United plans to maintain its Dreamliner fleet in Houston, where it operates its largest hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport and has trained several dozen pilots to fly the aircraft on a flight simulator. Before merging in 2010, United and Continental Airlines each ordered 25 of the fuel-efficient jets, the first commercial passenger planes to be made of mostly light-weight carbon fiber composite material.

United, the world's largest carrier, which received its first Dreamliner in September - more than three years behind schedule - flew its first group of paying passengers aboard the plane from Houston to Chicago in early November.